The One That Stayed
by astradanvers
Summary: Cat's senior thesis for Wellesley is made up of eight pictures. Part One of the College Sweethearts Series.


**This is the beginning of a series I've started where Kara made it to Earth when she was supposed to so she and Cat went to college together. They fall in love at college and later start a family. Some of these are based on prompts from tumblr, others are ideas I've come up with on my own. The timeline for everyone else is a little skewed because I've included them all here.**

Cat Grant's senior thesis at Wellesley doesn't start the way everyone expects it to, especially given it's title, _The One That Stayed_. Her family and friends believe that her portfolio will center around her camera. They would probably have been correct, four years before when Cat was a freshman.

The first picture in the portfolio is nearly perfect, or so Cat says with every new glance. She'd taken it her first day of college, done minor editing and then printed it. In it a young woman, a head taller than Cat, kneels down in front of a little boy who is around six or so. That moment, Cat behind her camera, silently capturing the pandemonium of move in day was when she first saw Kara Danvers. She wouldn't know until half an hour later when she returned from an excursion around campus that the same girl she'd taken her first picture of on campus would be her roommate.

The next picture in the portfolio shows the same young woman, Kara, at an easel set up to look through the back window of their dorm. The way the sun had bounced off Kara's hair that day had enchanted Cat, it was two weeks into their second semester. It was also the day that, post picture, Cat placed her camera on their kitchen table, stepped into Kara's personal space and kissed her for the first time.

The third picture required perfect timing, Cat had taken it completely by accident, never even realizing she'd set the automatic timer. Cat leans over Kara, her hands resting on the mattress below them, their foreheads touching, a single tear trailing down Kara's cheek. They were nineteen, Kara's foster father had just been killed in the line of duty and Cat had paused to kiss her girlfriend while climbing into bed.

In the fourth picture Kara and Cat stand close together, shutter button hidden in Cat's hand on the side not seen in the picture. Kara stands holding Cat, her arms circling the smaller woman's waist, eyes wide open as they stare at one another. There was a premiere party for one of Cat's mother's books that night, Cat begged for just one picture before they had to be there, not wanting to go at all but hoping that with Kara there she'd make it out mostly unscathed.

The fifth picture shows an obviously angry Kara. Everything had been going well that day until Maxwell Lord showed up, determined to sweep either Cat or Kara's sister off her feet. Maxwell, a man known for his smarts, said a very stupid thing. The moment he implied that two of the people Kara cared most about were little more than property, he may as well have been a dead man.

The sixth picture shows two hands, the one on the bottom slightly larger though still very feminine. Kara's hand is covered in paint, reds, blues, yellows and greens. Atop hers is Cat's a shiny white gold ring with a princess cut black diamond on top. They were both twenty-one, both filled with such priceless dreams.

Picture number seven is of Kara in her tuxedo at their wedding. It's after the ceremony, Kara stands looking back at Cat, her elbows resting on the balcony rail behind her, unconditional love in her eyes. Her bow tie is undone, the ends resting on her chest. Cat's hand is barely visible clutching at the lapel of Kara's jacket.

The very last picture in the portfolio is one Cat will forever cherish. It was taken the first day of their last week of college. In it Kara is asleep in their bed, hair covering both pillows, wearing only Cat's Wellesley hoodie. The sheets are bunched around her waist, the barest sliver of skin visible. The picture is done in black and white, it looks nearly staged.

Cat makes an A on her thesis, she and Kara go out to celebrate then return to their apartment to make love far into the morning. Laying there in the silence, lost in one another in a completely different but still intimate way Cat speaks quietly, "Have you ever thought about children?"

Kara smiles, "Every day since I met you."

Smiling Cat snuggles into Kara's side, eyes closing of their own will, "One day then."


End file.
